The Warrior Within
by The Red Typhoon
Summary: ...in short, this is a Seiryuoriented story, a new legend. Time to break the cliche. Gasps and surprises guaranteed...
1. Roses that bloom in darkness Part I

**Disclaimer : I don't own anything…except for my characters, of course! **

** The Warrior Within**

"When darkness closes in…

Do you sense fear?

Look into your heart.

The speck of light still gleams,

Illuminating the path that you seek."

**Chapter I : Roses that bloom in darkness (Part I)**

Rain lashed at the small window, threatening to shatter its stained glass. The dingy attic shuddered with the rumbling thunder and chilly mist seeped through the many cracks on the wall. She shivered as the cold stung at her skin and snuggled deeper into the blanket, hoping to find some warmth, but only to be embraced by more coldness. She groaned and curled up in bed, wrapping her arms around herself, desperate for some warmth, and maybe, some comfort, when………

"WAKE UP YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING LAZY-HEADED BRAT!"

This time she groaned out loudly.

The blanket got kicked off the bed viciously to reveal a head full of tousled lavender hair. A pair of sparkling blue eyes stared at the ceiling, anger and irritation etched all over them. Then she got off the bed grudgingly, cursing the owner of the voice that had shouted at her and presented her with such a pathetic starting of the day. She moved to the window and looked out, the stormy sky reflected on her blue eyes. So, even nature had decided to betray her today. She sighed to herself,

"This just keeps getting better and better."

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

"Are you up yet or not?"

A plump blonde woman in her mid forties shouted from the cozy kitchen. She looked up at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Goodness gracious, her highness finally woke up! In case you haven't noticed girl, I'm not supposed to play the role of your alarm clock every morning. You're supposed to wake yourself up by 6 am and prepare breakfast for all of us. I will not tolerate any princessy laziness in MY house, you understand, girl?" The woman spat at the newcomer.

The pair of glittering blue eyes met the blonde's brown ones squarely. "Sure. While your spoilt princesses sleep till 8.30. Ironic, isn't it?" she said in a sarcastic tone, while setting the table for breakfast.

The woman's eyes narrowed. "I will NOT be talked to like that in MY house! I am warning you for the last time, girl."

"My name is Yanzi," she said calmly. "And by the way aunt Niya, do you really have to stick that emphasizing "MY HOUSE" label on each and every one of your sentences? I mean, it DOES cause you a lot of calorie-loss, you know? So, I'd rather suggest you put up a huge sign on the roof-top saying "MY HOUSE" in big black block letters. At least it'll save you the shouting!"

Aunt Niya's face turned a dull shade of purple. She seemed on the verge of exploding. Suddenly a sound of cheerful laughter issued from the doorway. A brown-haired boy in his early teens stood there beaming at the older lavender-haired girl.

"Yanzi onesan always manages to bring laughter in our boring lives." he said still laughing hard.

"Thank you Junichi. Such an enthusiastic audience like you only makes my task easier." Yanzi chuckled back warmly. "Although I can't really say that for everybody…" she added thoughtfully casting a sideways glance at the blonde woman.

"Humph," aunt Niya settled herself heavily on one of the chairs round the table.

"Oh c'mon mom, you can't be mad at someone just for having a brilliant sense of humor!" Junichi chirped, plopping down on a chair himself.

"Okay, okay, enough with it," she snapped, irritated at her son for siding with the blue-eyed brat. "Why are you up so early today? And where's Ayumi and Kasumi?"

"Who, the Queens of Buckingham? Like they're ever gonna get up this early!"

"That's not the way to talk about your elder sisters!"

"Right," Junichi snorted.

Yanzi stifled a giggle as she placed the toasts on the table and sat down on another chair, gracefully tossing her knee-long lavender hair to her back.

Which irked her aunt. Come to think of it, everything about this young girl irked the blonde woman.

"I've got football practice today, so I'm up early." Junichi said through a mouthful of food. "Say onesan, do you have kendo practice too? We can set for school together then?"

"Yep, I think that's a good idea, since I _DO_ have practice before classes and--"

"Make sure you get back home before noon to clean the house and prepare lunch," aunt Niya cut in rudely. "I won't be back till 5 pm and Ayumi and Kasumi will be all tired out. Besides, I've invited some guests over for tea in the afternoon, so you'd better not be late."

Yanzi's face clouded. She was planning to hang out at the mall with her friends after school. Junichi noticed the sad look on the older girl's face and looked up at his mother accusingly. Aunt Niya, however, was feeling quite pleased with herself.

"Have I made my point clear?" she asked silkily.

Yanzi sighed.

"Yes, aunt Niya."

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

"H-A-I-I-I-I-I-I-Y-Y-A-A-A-A-A-A-H!"

A girl went flying across the room and hit the wooden wall squarely with a sickening thud. She had rosy-pink hair and as she looked up, a pair of hazel eyes framed with long black lashes was revealed. She glared at the other side of the room, where the cause of her rather disgraceful flight stood. It was another girl, with dark blue curls tied in a loose ponytail, slinging a kendo stick over her shoulders, an oh-yeah-look-at-me-I'm-Battousai-the-slasher (!) sort of triumphant smirk plastered on her face.

Which obviously irritated the pink-head.

"NISHIDA, YOU MORONIC LITTLE SHOW-OFF !" she yelled at the blue-haired girl.

"Exactly the reaction one would expect from a sore loser like yourself, Suzume-san." Nishida's smirk deepened, her brown eyes twinkling with mischief.

Suzume simply gaped at her, a bit lost for words.

"**HUH?"**

Nishida threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Awww, c'mon Su, I just won this block-buster super-duper action-packed match! Don't ya expect me to say something cool or somethin' ?" She pouted.

"How very unfortunate," said a smooth voice from the other corner of the room. "But of course, that's what you get when _EVERYBODY_ wants to be a samurai!" The owner of the voice was a tall and rather pale girl with black hair and deep black eyes. She sat in her Dojo robes watching the other pair fight. A tinkle of laughter issued from beside her where another girl sat. She was a bit skinny and wore glasses. She had dark blonde hair that she tied up in an elegant bun.

"Goodness gracious, Yoko! I was beginning to wonder whether Nishida got a bump on her head or something," she said through muffled giggles. "Don't do anything of that sort again, Nishida. It was pretty scary. You know, _YOU _talking so formal…!"

"Yeah, yeah very funny, Akane," Nishida grumbled bad-temperedly. "You're all just pissed off 'cuz I'm so awesomely tough and you're not! Yippie!" she started running around in circles swinging the kendo stick madly over her head.

"Riiiiiiight." Yoko rolled her eyes.

"Hey that's all okay, but DID YA REALLY HAVE TO THROW ME THAT HARD ON THE WALL?" Suzume got up rubbing her

head frantically, frying Nishida with her fiery glare.

Nishida sweat-dropped. "Well, um, you see, er, I was, um, sort of trying to imagine you as a ping-pong ball and thought

maybe you'd ricochet off the wall or something. That'd be pretty interesting, ya know…"

"**SAY WHAT!"**

"Hey, are you guys having a party without me?"

All four heads turned at the arrival of a certain lavender-head. A very dear lavender-head…well, at least to them.

"YANI-CHAN…!" Nishida zoomed up to her and within seconds had her locked in a rather lop-sided bear-hug.

"I missed you ol' buddy ol' friend ol' pal!" Nishida squealed through giggles.

"Like how? You just saw me yesterday!" Yanzi laughed back. "Now if you don't mind, GET OFF ME YA HEAVY SAND BAG,

YER SUFFOCATING ME!"

"WHAT! Are you telling me I'm fat? Let my kendo stick be a witness this day, I shall poke your limbs off with the aid of

ruthless…er, pokes…of this holy stick and—"

"Again too much samurai-obsession!" Yoko rolled her eyes.

All five girls burst out laughing.

"Just like always," Yanzi thought happily. "I always feel at home whenever I'm around these guys. They're the only

friends I've got and hanging out with them helps me forget what I have to go through with aunt Niya everyday." Even

thinking of that particular person filled her heart with bitterness and she remembered what had happened earlier in the

morning.

"By the way Yani-chan, you DO remember that we're going over to the mall after-school today? It's my cousin's wedding

ceremony and you promised you'd help me choose a decent dress for myself." Nishida beamed at her.

Yanzi's heart sank. Nishida was looking at her so expectantly. How could she word it out to her?

"I'm sorry Nish-chan, but I don't think I can go with you guys today. See, I'm not feeling too well and I got this terrible

headache. Please don't be mad," Yanzi lied, desperately trying to keep the false smile at place.

Nishida stared at her for a moment. Then her expression turned grim.

"It's the hag, isn't it?" she hissed.

Yanzi chose not to answer that.

"That aunt of yours is giving you a hard time again?" a look of deep concern crossed Yoko's face.

Yanzi tried to smile, but it looked rather awkward. Finally she gave in and sighed heavily.

"That horrible woman!" Akane growled.

"And her horrible twin daughters!" Suzume added.

"Hey, Junichi's quite ok, though," Yanzi said. "He's pretty adorable, the little guy."

"Yeah, he's cute!" Nishida chirped happily, then instantly became serious again. "But honestly Yani-chan, how long are

you planning to stand that snobbish old hag, anyway?"

Yanzi bit her lips.

"You guys know me better than anybody else. Heck, I was literally brought up by you guys! So, you know perfectly well

that I'd give ANYTHING to get out of that cursed house of my aunt. But circumstances just don't permit. At least, not

yet……"

Everyone was silent for some time. There was no sound other than the howling of the cold wind outside.

"That aunt of yours just gets on my nerves." Nishida declared finally.

"I know. But it's not like I have an option……

Is it?"

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

Please review !


	2. Roses that bloom in darkness Part II

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi. (duh!) **

**The Warrior Within**

"And yet roses shall bloom…

Their petals washing away the gloom of ruins."

**Chapter I : Roses that bloom in darkness (Part II)**

Dear Diary

Everywhere I look, darkness threatens to engulf me in its eerie depths. Pitch black darkness, as cold as death itself, freezing me to my cores, urging me to give up. Hopes shattered, dreams assassinated, I stand still defiantly before it, clutching the only weapon I have. Light. My light. A tiny speck of desperate hope that gives me power to smile calmly at darkness' face, to be patient even when I'm being thrown into the endless pits of oblivion. With defiance in my heart, I look around myself and see darkness staring back at me. Just like always.

It has been like this ever since my parents got divorced. I was four then. At that time, mother went to a conference in London. She had a freak car accident there and left this world without ever saying goodbye to me. Father got married again, to a woman he previously had an affair with. He's got kids with her and they're living pretty happily together…so I've heard. Father didn't want to take me. But he DID agree to pay a yearly amount for my expenses. Which, probably, was the only reason why my aunt Niya Takahara took me in. She's my mother's cousin…and she hated her. Result, she hates me as well. Besides, she's got her own kids to take care of. So WHY did she go all the way through the hazard of rendering me shelter? Her husband had died eight years ago. She wasn't very sure when the court offered her to be my guardian. But then she heard about the 'compensation' she'd receive from my father and she agreed. Thus she brought me to this house of hers, made me the lone occupant of this old attic and gradually turned my life into a living hell….I have this shrewd suspicion that she's trying to fulfill her grudge against my mother by torturing me. Maybe I'm just imagining things, but what the hell! I'm completely at her mercy. And she LOVES it. She loves to see me suffer. Loves to see me in pain. But I won't let her win. Each and every time she strikes me I'll present her with the same contented smile that I know, will irritate her beyond anything. My weapon. Yes. Simple, but deadly.

I won't lose. No, I won't lose to evil. I won't be overcome by darkness. Never.

Wish me luck.

------------- Yanzime Morioka

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

Dinner with the rest of the Takaharas was usually an unpleasant experience for Yanzi. As she laid the dinner table, her aunt, Mrs. Niya Takahara and her twin daughters, Ayumi and Kasumi, came in. They looked exactly the same, with white-blonde hair that fell to their backs, and emerald eyes framed with long mascara-studded lashes. They took their seats on either sides of Mrs. Takahara like graceful swans. Junichi came running in a while later.

Yanzi clenched her fists and sat down on her chair. Dinner was the time the whole family got together. It was also the time aunt Niya found most suitable for bullying Yanzi, because she knew that her daughters will also join her in the torture cell.

Yanzi made a mental check of everything. She was a good cook and the food she had prepared for dinner was also good. She could tell from aunt Niya's face that she liked it, which obviously annoyed her because she won't be able to yell at Yanzi for "**_abominable cooking_**" ! She grinned to herself. The plates were clean and the table-cloth was spotless. She had personally made sure of all that.

"_I wonder what she's planning to get me on this time_," she thought.

"You need a hair-cut." Mrs. Niya Takahara spat abruptly, startling everybody else in the room.

"What?" Yanzi sputtered.

"You need a hair-cut. It's grown messy," she pointed at her wavy knee-long hair, a malicious gleam in her eyes.

It was as if a small explosion took place inside Yanzi's head. She had rather emotional issues with her hair. She knew from the photos she had of her mother that she also used to have very long hair. Yanzi was fond of keeping her hair long like her mother. In fact, she had her last hair-cut when she was twelve.

"Forget it. I'm not cutting my hair." Yanzi replied matter-of-factly, though she was struggling to refrain herself from shouting out loud.

"_Patience_," she whispered to herself inside her mind.

"Ahh. We can only imagine why," Ayumi piped up, a sneer forming on her face.

"And what can that be?" aunt Niya raised an eyebrow.

"Oh don't you see mother," Kasumi cast a loathing glance at her blue-eyed cousin. "How in the whole world can Yanzi-san get rid of her exquisitely long eye-candy hair, when she so likes to sport it around to attract the guys at school?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yanzi yelled, forgetting all self-restraints.

"Don't you dare shout at me," Kasumi hissed. "Everybody knows what a pathetic whore you are. You're always busy trying to make the boys fall for you. No wonder you don't want a hair-cut."

Aunt Niya's lips curled into a crooked grin. "Indeed," she chuckled, thoroughly enjoying herself.

"Yes mother," Ayumi joined in the torture, jealousy evident in her eyes. "But I feel sorry for Yanzi-san. Maybe her witchcraft isn't really that powerful. Guys don't pay attention to her, no matter how much she flashes her 'gorgeous' hair. So I'd rather suggest you give yourself a hair-cut anyway, Yanzi-san. Who knows, maybe that'll work."

The twins laughed out loud, while their mother grinned viciously. Junichi simply sat frozen, too shocked to speak at the cruelty of his mother and sisters. He didn't know how to console the victimized girl.

Yanzi herself was lost for words. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She desperately tried to bury them back, because that'd simply exhilarate her aunt.

"_No, I won't lose_," she gritted her teeth.

"I see. So, that's the whole story," aunt Niya licked her lips, a smug look coming over her face. "I can't say I'm really surprised, though. Her mother was no different, either. It's only natural for her to—"

"**_DON'T YOU DARE TALK RUBBISH ABOUT MY MOTHER !"_**

The loud scream echoed throughout the room, as it gradually grew dead silent. Aunt Niya's eyes shone malevolently, her voice shaking with anger, as she spoke.

"I will NOT be talked to like that in my house. Yes, this is MY house that you're living in and this is MY food that you're filling your ungrateful little stomach with. You're being warned for the last time, girl. There won't be any second chances. Now get yourself out of my sight."

Yanzi stormed out of the dining hall shaking with uncontrollable fury, as the twin's triumphant smirks followed her retreating back.

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

_A star-sparkling night sky. A dingy attic. A seventeen year old maiden. Crying alone…._

Yanzi was fuming through sobs, her body inflating with each heavy breath.

"I don't know how long I can take this," she thought. "The frikkin' hell, I'm a human being? There's a certain limit to my endurance…."

"What's it to them if I'm a bit…different? What's it to them if I'm perfectly contented with myself just the way I am? I never complain about life, yet life complains about me? So what if nobody wants to be by my side? What if I'm always to be abandoned? I don't give a damn…."

She felt restless. These were times she felt she needed to talk to someone. Anyone.

She couldn't reach her friends at that moment. Instead, she scrambled for the last source of comfort in her life. The only person she talked to when she was alone in the attic.

From the drawer of her table she took out a plain old hand-mirror, its glass dusty and slightly cracked in places. She stared at the mirror for some time and whispered in a trembling voice.

"M-Miboshi-san?"

For a while nothing happened. Then the glassy surface turned into a swirling mass of black and sharp blue letters appeared before her eyes.

"Hello, my dear warrior-princess. I sense distress in you today."

"Oh, it's nothing," Yanzi lied.

"Nothing."

Yanzi stared at the word for along time, then felt all her pretense suddenly being washed away. She felt herself…..giving in, all her self-defense crushing down to earth. She began to sob hysterically ads she let all the pain flow out of her. Clasping the mirror tightly, she allowed herself to get out of her protective shell for once and confess everything to the spirit that resided in that old mirror. And surprisingly enough, after she finished, she was feeling much better.

The mirror was silent for a moment. Then letters began to appear once again.

"How do you feel now?"

"Better," Yanzi whispered. "Thank you for listening."

"It's the only thing I can do. But you need not worry. It is necessary to get rid of all that is painful and burdensome once in a while. It is not a sign of cowardice. Rather it strengthens you to be prepared for more hardship in future. It grooms you into a perfect warrior. Which of course, you already are, my dear."

Yanzi couldn't help smiling despite herself.

"Why do you always call me that, Miboshi-san?"

"Because you are one."

"Right," Yanzi whispered sarcastically. Then she sighed.

"I feel like hell."

"Which is only natural."

"Could you please stop stating the obvious all the time?"

"Certainly. But then you must allow me to try and lift your mood."

"By what?"

"a story maybe."

"A 'story'! Hey I know you're pretty ancient, but I'm not really THAT much of a kid!"

"I am well aware. But this is one story I feel I should tell you."

Yanzi raised an eyebrow. "OK. Go on."

"Now that I have your permission, I shall tell you of a legend. A legend that ties four mythical lands together. A legend that speaks of four beast gods and their reigns. And a legend that tells the story of young maidens who come from other worlds to gather the warriors of star to make their own wishes come true. This, my dear girl, is the legend of the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho. The Universe of the Four gods……………."

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

**Please review!**


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